Sandra Bland’s Mother: “This Means War”

Posted July 22, 2015 by gdemo

Sandra Bland and mother Geneva Reed-Veal

Sandra Bland’s mother had to say good-bye to her daughter Tuesday. As a parent, the utter pain and destruction losing a child is unimaginable, and despite that, Bland’s mother vowed to fight for justice.

“This means war,” Geneva Reed-Veal said memorializing her daughter at Johnson Phillip All Faiths Church on Prairie View A&M’s campus in Texas.

Bland’s death just might be the catalyst for real change in terms of police brutality and violence against black people.

Reed-Veal said that “something occurred that is going to change the world.”

Eric Garner being choked to death by a police officer caught on video, changed nothing. Freddie Gray’s death in Baltimore did result in six police officers charged, it’s far too early to tell whether that case will result in any substantive change. Michael Brown, 18, was unarmed and gunned down in broad daylight in Ferguson. Tamir Rice, 12, was shot and killed by a police officer within 2 seconds of the police officer approaching the young boy who had a pellet gun. There are more cases, like the man who was shot in the back while unarmed and running from a police officer. The list goes on, but none of these incidents ever rises to the level of a full-blown Department of Justice review of all of these police departments, and to have that review result in an improved police department.

Maybe Bland’s death will be the one that will result in real and substantive change to how we staff and manage our police departments.